This invention being presented is a necessary means of locking wheelchair wheels with adjustable camber angles to their wheels in a stationary position as desired by the occupant of the wheelchair. The brake lock can be easily removed or attached to the wheelchair as well as adjusted for the variations in the camber tube axle.
The improvements of the present invention gives a positive breaking system that compensates for the various caster-camber angles. The prior arts brake devices do not have this capability.
The prior arts being referenced here:
Inventors Patent Number Date issued Watwood, Brian 6,007,082 12/28/99 Duran, Brian M. 6,012,555 1/11/2000 Pfister, Berard 5,034,039 9/13/94 Roberts; Jack 5,799,756 9/1/98 Barry; Theodore 5,280,938 1/25/94 Babilias; John 4,623,043 11/18/86
None of the prior arts have the capacity or ability to adjust the locking mechanism to wheels that change their distance from the centerline of the wheelchair as well as change the angles of their caster and camber on the wheels. Surelock's claim of adjustability in U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,756 can be adjusted to a limited degree in and out from centerline, but not when adjusting for the camber, it slips out of engagement with the notched disc, nor does it have the ability to move the latch mechanism with the camber tubes as required in the Quick Connect Brake Lock. Additionally the latching mechanism does not have the ability to hold the wheels in the desired position as does the angled pin and hole combination of the Quick Connect Brake Lock when coping with the various degrees of camber angle. The Quick-Connect-Disconnect Wheelchair Brake Lock described herein handles these variables having to do with the location of the wheels as well as the angle of the wheels. Not only does it have the ability to adjust to these variables, but has the ability to be quickly removed and reconnected to new tubes, which introduce new camber angles to the wheels and wheel locations. The handle for activating the locking mechanism is completely enclosed to keep sand and gravel and snow and ice from collecting in the moving parts of the handle, which would cause excessive wear and interference with the movement of the locking mechanism. The handle is designed to improve the ease of operation.